2025 CMS Proposed Rule: Announcing this week a proposed rule for inpatient and long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) for the fiscal year of 2025 (FY), federal officials cited an increasing focus on social determinants of health (SDoH). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also prioritized improving maternal health and strengthening emergency preparedness, which noted […]
Physicians and healthcare experts are urging Medicare to lead reforms in the time-consuming prior authorization (PA) process, which often causes delays in patient care. However, they caution against excessive reform, as it could exacerbate the problem rather than improving it. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have put forth two proposals for […]
The OPPS proposal lacked any mention of several prominent issues that industry leaders have eagerly awaited reforms on. Yesterday, federal officials introduced two sets of proposed rules, which included possible revisions to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) for the 2024 calendar year. Within the PFS proposed rule alone, […]
On July 13, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule seeking public feedback on proposed policy changes for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and other Medicare Part B issues. These changes are set to take effect on or after January 1, 2024. The proposed rule for […]
The latest ICD-10-PCS codes and guidelines for the fiscal year 2024 have been unveiled by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). With a net growth of 73 codes, the total count of inpatient procedure codes has reached 78,603. Notably, the New Technology Section has experienced the largest surge, introducing 40 new codes. The […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has consistently authorized hospitals to establish and utilize their own coding guidelines for emergency department facility claims. CMS makes clear that “[a]s long as the services furnished are documented and medically necessary and the facility is following its own system, which reasonably relates the intensity of hospital […]
The agency proposes to strengthen the ties that bind payments to quality data reporting. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued, April 10, the Inpatient Prospective Payment System/Long-Term Care Hospital (IPPS/LTCH) proposed rule for fiscal year (FY) 2024. If finalized as written, inpatient hospitals and LTCHs that do not successfully report quality data […]
You won’t find these codes in your 2023 code books, but they are effective April 1. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released coding changes and policy updates for the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). The updates include the addition of many new HCPCS Level II codes, the deletion of a few […]
CPT code 99214. Is that Jean Valjean’s number? No. It is an evaluation and management (E&M) code of moderate complexity. Few CPT® codes cause goosebumps, a chill in the air, and a pit in your stomach besides CPT code 99214. It is an E&M code of moderate complexity. For a low-complexity visit, the code decreases […]
Physicians need to keep their billing and coding right to ensure seamless reimbursements from payers. Similarly, they should stay updated with the latest coding changes to keep their revenue cycle intact. In addition, running a successful medical practice is a daunting task as the providers need to stay updated with the industry guidelines. The year […]